After our wonderful visit with friends in Bern, we headed to the countryside for a three-day farm stay. The “housebarn” we rented was built in traditional Swiss style with the owners occupying the top two floors and our apartment on the ground floor. Swiss housebarns were designed for intergenerational living. Farms were, and in many cases still are, passed on from parents to eldest child. The barn is also incorporated into the same structure as the home. Our kids were delighted to discover that we shared a wall with the horse stable.
It is amazing to watch Eliza and Georgia go through the process of gaining animals’ trust. They have such tremendous respect for the creatures they befriend and they’re remarkable at reading signals. They are patient, always giving the animals time and space to become acquainted.
These girls won the hearts of the animals almost immediately and their bond grew stronger over the course of our stay.
Perhaps the biggest highlight on the farm was a foal born just 2 1/2 weeks before our arrival. Eliza and Georgia were so enamored with her and loved sneaking into her stall to get kisses.
After a full afternoon of horseplay we pried the girls away for an evening stroll. As we walked to the church just up the hill from the farm, the 8:00 bell tolled and the echoing sound of bells ringing over the hilltops was hauntingly beautiful and stopped Georgia dead in her tracks.
We all needed this place at this time. I think there’s no greater feeling than being in the right place at the right time with the right people. More on that in “Swiss Farm Stay (part two)”… coming soon if I can keep the internet working in Thailand…
eyeweise 
